8th Legacy: The Tower and the Uchiha

"I think that... the one thing Naruto-kun fears the most after losing the people he cares about is...
to see everything he's sacrificed – his parents, childhood, friends... all be for nothing."
Uchiha Itachi

Hospital, a day after the funeral.

Believe it or not, Jinchuuriki were not infallible beings as far as the bijuu-enhanced healing properties and poison immunity went. Naruto was well aware of that truth since the bijuu had no intentions of deluding his jinchuuriki about their mortality. While it was true bijuu could heal almost any injuries from cuts, broken bones, and even organ ruptures, they couldn't save their jinchuuriki from grave wounds on the level of a destroyed heart or a missing head, and definitely not if someone had a way to disintegrate their body completely, as Kurama put it jokingly. Missing limbs or eyes or the likes had never happened to his previous jinchuurikis, so Kurama had no idea if he could regrow it. Though the fox was sure he could reattach it if Naruto was lucky enough to have not completely lost the limb. Naruto vehemently refused to test that theory.

Poison was tricky stuff, according to Kurama, since he had to be aware of it, otherwise it would go left untreated. While the bijuu was confident he could prevent Naruto from dying of poison, he couldn't prevent Naruto from feeling the headache, nausea, and other symptoms if the poison was strong enough. And some particularly strong poisons would require Kurama to 'burn' it out of his system. When Naruto had asked Kurama to test it using a mild poison, the cut had healed in record time, and the poison had evaporated from his wound, though he'd found the burning sensation to be very unpleasant.

So Naruto had made it clear he disliked being poisoned, because burning it out of his system was a bitch.

So when Naruto found out a unique tasting jelly was laced with poison, he was pretty pissed. He was sweaty from head to toe, and he looked like a cooked crab fresh from the pan. When Shisui and Itachi secretly visited him, they were pretty surprised to see an irate Naruto who looked like he had visited a sauna. "Some fools poisoned the jelly," he muttered as he slammed a privacy seal tag Hakurei had given him on the wall. By the time he had noticed the poison, a spoonful had already made it into his digestive system. It had been a mild poison, but because Kurama knew it would pissed Naruto off, he had burned it out of his body.

'Next time be more vigilant!' Kurama hissed in the back of his mind.

'I'm sorry...' Naruto rolled his eyes. If he wanted to be that cautious, he'd have to revert back to his diet of Ichiraku ramen and wild plants. Though no one had been foolish enough to poison him outright back then, there had always been a risk from the food he'd bought.

Shisui gritted his teeth, "Damn..."

Naruto shook his head, "let it be..." He deadpanned as Itachi handed him a towel to wipe his sweat. "I should've noticed when I saw the nurse who brought my meal looking a bit dazed." Villagers usually limited themselves to doing things that wouldn't get them arrested and/or killed most of the time, but some were brave enough to try their chances, though very rarely.

"Genjutsu," Itachi drawled with a sigh. "Is this the first assassination attempt on you?" he asked curiously. Normally, he wouldn't feel any curiosity for an attempted assassination on his friend's life, but from how deadpanned Naruto's response was, the Uzumaki cared even less than he did.

Naruto shrugged, "Nah... Poison is the easiest and safest way to assassinate me since it's hard to trace, and not even ANBU is paranoid enough to check sealed cartons of milk or instant ramen. Besides, mild poisons only give a jinchuuriki a slight headache or stomachache." He shook his head, imagining a store clerk using a syringe or the likes to inject poison into his groceries. His ANBU guards had never worried of him dying from poison with justified reason, of course.

"I see..."

"Then again, Tori's squad knew my mother and the Uzumaki clan's bad habit of eating stuff that could cause indigestion in normal people..." A habit he had unfortunately picked up. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd drunk spoiled milk before he found out about his jinchuuriki status. Kurama hadn't helped because he'd thought it was hilarious and believed his jinchuuriki should learn for himself, but luckily, it did wonders for his immunity.

The general shinobi population should have known trying to kill a jinchuuriki with poison was futile, especially since no jinchuuriki had ever been recorded of dying of poisoning. No bijuu, including Shukaku, condoned death by poisoning since it was the stupidest way to die according to Kurama. "My status allows me to be careless of what I eat, though I recommend you don't eat in public with me."

Shisui buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe you're talking about an assassination attempt like it's the weather," he muttered in disbelief.

"You want me to bitch about it, Shisui?" Naruto asked out loud. "I'm sure my milk was poisoned from time to time when I was a baby." He raised his hand in placating gesture when he saw Shisui, and even Itachi, looking ready to snap. "It was intentional, a tradition practiced on Uzumaki infants to build up immunity... not an assassination attempt. So basically, I'm more immune than an average shinobi... or even jinchuuriki." He titled his head to the side, "I'm sure Yuzuriha and Tokusa have poisoned my meals, as well as their own, from time to time." Shisui looked ready to scream murder, but Naruto stopped him. "It's a custom from Uzu, and actually not that uncommon in some royal families."

Itachi sighed at that, "I'm speechless..."

"Kurama is wondering why you didn't just grunt a 'hn' instead of announcing your speechlessness," Naruto informed them with a grin.

Itachi and Shisui looked at Naruto in disbelief, "Who?"

Naruto chuckled softly. "I am talking about my tenant."

"You speak to that demon?" Shisui asked. "You speak to the Kyuubi?" He emphasized the incredulity of the whole ordeal.

"Him," Naruto corrected, leaving Shisui looking wary. After the incident with Aizen, Naruto believed Shisui had the right to know. It would also lessen Itachi's burden, because he wouldn't have to keep this secret from his cousin. And since the older Uchiha wasn't screaming profanities yet, he was certain Shisui didn't think he was possessed, probably for the same reason Itachi hadn't. Sensor abilities were really convenient.

"I gave you his name because I want you to acknowledge that, while Kurama is indeed a demon and not the epitome of goodness, he's not a mindless, evil entity bent on destroying the world either. He's also not a natural disaster like people in Konoha believe..." he stated in a stern tone, giving the Uchiha no room to argue otherwise. "I trust you, Shisui," he declared with conviction, startling the Uchiha. "Do you trust me?" He knew Shisui was a loyal shinobi like Itachi and how they both were pacifists because of the war they'd witnessed.

Shisui's lips slowly curved up, "You know what... I've always believed that, in spite of how ungrateful most of us are, you've always protected Konoha," he began in a solemn tone. "I don't know if I can trust your tenant, but... I do know your parents entrusted Konoha to you, and I've seen Tori's squad give their lives to protect you and..." He listed on, "Itachi trusts you..." He glanced at his shocked cousin, and had the situation not been so serious, he would've laughed at Itachi's face. "I know my cousin, and he's a better judge of character than I am. I've seen you both put your lives on the line for each other at a moment's notice, but more than anything..." he trailed off, "I trust my friend, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto blinked owlishly at that, "You have a talent for rousing speeches. How unexpected," he muttered with a beaming grin.

The shunshin expert flushed a deep red, "This is supposed to be when you cry crocodile tears because of how touched you are!"

Itachi sighed, rubbing his temple. "Shisui..."

"Nah... I'll pass the crying part," Naruto said dismissively. "At any rate... Kurama doesn't trust you and Itachi," he warned them. The fox would forever distrust the Uchiha name, and though his jinchuuriki trusted the traitorous clan, he would always be vigilant.

Shisui rolled his eyes. "The feeling is mutual," he said nonchalantly. "Are you buddies with him?"

"Somewhat," Naruto said vaguely. "The closest I dare to claim without him throwing a tantrum in the back of my mind is unwilling cell mates. It's hard to trust humans after decades of imprisonment... and in your case, you're related to someone he hates with the fire of a thousand suns."

'No amount of suns are hot enough to convey my hatred,' Kurama declared in mocking theatrics.

'Kurama...' Naruto shook his head mentally.

"Madara..." Shisui breathed out the name of a previous Uchiha clan leader.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, "Speaking of that man, there's something we have to tell you, Shisui..."

The shunshin expert cringed when he saw Itachi's tranquil face, because he knew beneath that Itachi was truly angry. "I have a feeling I won't like what you're about to say."

"You won't," Naruto confirmed.

"As you know, eight years ago the Yondaime Hokage..." Itachi told him the conversation he'd had with Naruto last year, and how he tried to convince Naruto of their clan's lack of involvement in the tragedy eight years ago. The blond added his point of view here and there, watching Shisui's frown with worry. "It's unfortunate, but the Uchiha who was responsible for the Kyuubi's attack is not among us, and we have no clue where he is," Itachi finished.

Shisui closed and then opened his eyes, revealing the three tomoe of his sharingan swirling in fury. "I'll kill that bastard..." He hissed murderously, turning to Itachi. "Why the hell hasn't Konoha, or anyone in our own clan, ever tried to find this blood-traitor?! Because of him, we're treated like enemies by our own village!"

Itachi gritted his teeth, "You know our clan! Even though we've denied our involvement, everyone is too ignorant and proud to acknowledge there's anyone out there with the sharingan! That... there's the possibility of a blood-traitor!" Itachi rarely lost his temper, but when he did he had a good reason for it. "I even sorted through our records, looking to see if there was any Uchiha bodies never retrieved or lost eyes..." The Uchiha scion trailed off tiredly.

Naruto, who had been informed by Itachi of the horrifying results, answered. "Officially, the number of Uchiha bodies that were never retrieved from the battlefield is over a hundred." That was from the second and third war alone. "But unofficially... it's unknown..."

"What?!" Shisui shouted. "Unknown?! Shouldn't we keep a track record of that?!"

Itachi shook his head, "It's all because of the third Shinobi war that went on for ten years! Genin with undeveloped sharingan could've awakened it but went missing before it could be recorded, bastard children that no one acknowledged..." he listed the possibilities that caused the record to be inaccurate wearily. "There are so many ways."

"Not to mention our main enemy in that war was Iwagakure..." Naruto added with a sigh. "A majority of our force that fell in that war had to be dug out... you know how Iwa dealt with their enemies."

Shisui scowled at that statement. He had just started academy when the war ended, but his older brother had been one of fallen shinobi in the third war, and even to today, the grave remained just a name without a body. "And after the war, our forces had suffered so many casualties that we couldn't spare the manpower to retrieve their bodies." He repeated the reason his uncle had told him when he'd asked why they'd never received his brother's body.

Letting his temper overrun him here would be pointless, especially if they wanted to accomplish something. He was a bit angry Itachi hadn't said anything before, but he could understand why Naruto wanted to keep it secret. Naruto already had enough on his plate, and to have Konoha's upper echelon hounding him more than they already had was going to crush him. It was truly ironic that, while the whole village was in blissful ignorance, a fourteen-year-old, a twelve-year-old green ANBU, and an eight-year-old genin were the ones who were clued in and trying to do something for the good of their village. Then again, perhaps those upper up folks did know but were doing nothing to defend the Uchiha clan or Naruto from the injustice.

"Should we tell someone from our clan?" Shisui suggested.

Itachi shook his head, "You were screaming bloody murder the moment we told you, and so imagine what the rest of our clan would do... we'd be fanning the flames if we did. The upper echelons of Konoha are also out," Itachi stated sternly. "Since they've done nothing to curb the rumor of our involvement, we can assume two possibilities: they don't know of the stray Uchiha's existence, or they really do suspect us."

"Or worse," Naruto added. "Villagers would be more at ease knowing there's someone they could blame rather than unknown enemies in the dark they never knew of. As the saying goes, better the devil you know than the devil you don't. They could be allowing the Uchiha clan to be the convenient scapegoat to draw the attention of the villagers. Your clan is strong enough to the culprit, and they're part of the village so within jurisdiction... You all can't legally fight back, and the villagers have seen you ostracized. This is political warfare at its finest... a concrete reason to curb the Uchiha's political standing..." He disliked thinking the worse of his grandfather figure and the village, but he of all people had no delusions of the Sandaime being a saint, nor of Konoha having no skeletons in their closet. It was no secret that the Sandaime's teacher, the Niidaime, had held a grudge against Madara and the Uchiha clan, so it was by no stretch of the imagination to conclude his dislike had been passed on to his students.

Shisui gritted his teeth, "Screw politics! We have a bloody traitor out there who can control bijuu – Madara himself or his second coming! We can't afford to worry about politics! The last time that bastard came, we were almost razed to the ground!" he pointed out testily.

Itachi sighed, "I don't think we can just 'screw politics' as you put it, since our village is well on its way of cutting their own limbs if they keep this up..." he muttered forlornly.

"Agreed," Naruto muttered in agreement. "I'm not going to lie, but while my situation and the people of the tower's situation isn't as bad as the Uchiha clan's, we're in a pretty... difficult position right now..."

'Yeah, and Shukaku is a bit sandy... 'Kurama muttered sardonically. 'Or Matatabi is a bit fiery.'

Naruto rolled his eyes inwardly at that. "Which is why I'm bringing this topic up with the both of you, because God help me if we can't get out of this next shit storm intact..." There was a dark undertone in Naruto's voice that betrayed his calm expression as he relayed this to the Uchihas.

Itachi and Shisui couldn't suppress their cringe at the rueful look on Naruto's face. "Naruto…" Shisui began, "you're not even out of the hospital yet." Neither were they for that matter. "Maybe we should talk more about this after we're discharged?"

Naruto shook his head, "No… we have no time to wait, because there's disaster on the horizon," he retorted. "For starters, I really hate the formal procedure of medical papers now, and how my fellow seal masters forgot steath..." It was an emergency situation so they could be excused for forgetting it when carrying dying children. "We were pretty much in critical condition after that battle, and they had to rush us to the hospital or else..." At least they had thought so… After all, finding Naruto and his two surviving friends collapsed, surrounded by so much blood and four dead ANBU, alluded to the search party that they had been on the verge of dying.

"So they had to march through the village in plain sight while carrying us?" Shisui guessed with a frown.

"Yes... but the real problem started in the hospital when the doctors inquired about what the hell had happened to us," Naruto informed them ruefully. "They'd had no choice but to inform the medical staff about the situation, especially when it came to Aizen's true nature... his chakra, how someone (Hakurei's brother) had died because of his clan's enzyme, and so on..."

Itachi frowned, "So... the news about Aizen being a traitor has been leaked now?" Aizen was still Naruto's mentor in official paperwork, so for a traitor to tutor Konoha's jinchuuriki would undoubtedly cause unrest in Konoha. "And they know Shisui and I were involved?"

Naruto nodded, "Not just that... It's no secret half of the tower's inhabitants were avid supporters of Aizen when they thought he was a benevolent leader." Since it was quite a fuss when the position was bequeathed to Aizen, Naruto wouldn't be surprised if a majority of the shinobi population knew about the divided loyalty.

"The Tower may be the core of Konoha's defense mechanism... but half of us are now suspected as traitors..." Even though everyone, including Aizen's men, were equally angry at the dead man. "Hakurei has tried his best... he's checked Aizen's former supporters for evidence of a mind control seal, and fortunately all of them are clean and severely regret ever trusting that bastard, but..."

"But that's not enough assurance?" Shisui guessed warily.

"Yes," Naruto answered with a sigh. "And now they've found out that I'm working in the tower and that the bastard was my ex-master to boot..." he trailed off." Miraculously, this news reached only Konoha's upper echelon and probably a minority of the Shinobi population... "

"Oh dear…" Shisui breathed out. How well the Sandaime could manage to keep it that way was questionable.

"Worst-case scenario: I get removed from the tower – which won't be taken well by the people of the tower at all – on top of them getting the blame for Aizen's betrayal. And if they decided to take drastic measures, the people of the tower will shut down Konoha's defense seal mechanism..."

Shisui blanched at that, "What the hell?! This is the Uchiha's history all over again but on a smaller scale!" Though, the Uchiha's drastic measures would be a coup.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, "That's really reckless… There's more to this problem, isn't there?"

"Regretfully, yes," He gritted out. Naruto almost wanted to strangle Hakurei for his stupidity. Even though it wouldn't cripple Konoha permanently, it would deal significant damage to Konoha's defense. Old friend or not, the Hokage and his advisers wouldn't be happy about it. "The majority of the tower's population are refugees from Uzu, and while they've officially been absorbed into Konoha's forces… unofficially, they consider themselves to be doing a favor for Konoha under Uzumaki Mito-sama's order…" Naruto explained grimly. "I had suspected something to be suspicious since Hokage-sama seemed to be keen on keeping me away from them before I was apprenticed, but... I didn't expect this."

"Expect what?"

Naruto face-palmed. While it was understandable he'd been ignorant about how Konoha viewed the people of the tower due to his severe lack of interaction with the village, he still berated himself for being too engrossed in his own problems and oblivious to his surroundings. "They're treated like foreigners, and they act like ones... their loyalty is to an Uzumaki, to me... While Hakurei respects the Sandaime to an extent, his loyalty is to our clan, not Konoha." He buried his face in his hands. "This arrangement was never a problem when Mito-sama was a loyal mother to Konoha, my mother was the same, and Aizen... they had thought that bastard owed them a favor for his position. Hakurei, on the other hand… No matter what the reason, Konoha made Aizen his brother's successor, and the Sandaime closed the case of Sangetsu's mysterious death as terminal illness... add to that Konoha has treated me, the son of an Uzumaki, like a pariah for something I couldn't control..."

"Something Konoha should've kissed your feet for you mean?" Shisui corrected with a huff.

He shook his head ruefully at that, "At any rate... both sides are now aware that the tower is unhappy with Konoha and vice versa. They feel they've been condemned and believe Konoha still owes them a lot," Naruto summarized the whole ordeal grossly. "On the other hand, Konoha has just realized they've pissed off the wrong clan, and it's too late for damage control... while they won't start a civil war, people of the tower will, unfortunately, boycott simply to show how much Konoha owes them..."

Itachi gritted his teeth, this was going to lead Konoha to her doom. "A spark can start a fire that burns the entire prairie… this is the beginning of an end. Our village is going to dismember her own limbs," he concluded grimly. "If the tower starts to act openly hostile to our government… those who are displeased with current government will rebel…" It'll be a domino effect, and Itachi had no delusions that his clan – or at least a fraction of it – wouldn't be eager to restore the Uchiha's power in Konoha. "The upper echelon is undoubtedly unhappy that: one, Hokage-sama put you under the tutelage of a traitor, and two, the people in the tower are irreplaceable since seal masters are a scarcity..." Itachi summarized the situation grossly.

Naruto blinked at that, "Scarcity..." he repeated, frowning as that one little fact sunk in. "There's one mostly harmless solution..."

Itachi and Shisui perked up at that, "What do you have in mind?"

Naruto glanced at the Uchihas, "I need both your guy's help as well as Hakurei's..." The man wasn't going to like this solution, but he would go with it for their sake.

'I have a bad feeling about this...'

'I wish I could say I disagree with you...' Naruto thought wishfully. "On a better note, if we can make this work, we'll celebrate that birthday party with cake, candles, song, crackers... I don't care how childish it is if it makes my subordinates happy." He promised solemnly.

"Old man in a kid's body," Shisui growled out when they were out of Naruto's room, stealthily returning to their own. "Both of you."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "He didn't deserve this," he stated.

"I know," Shisui agreed tiredly. "When I met him I thought I could see you... had the war never changed you." Itachi frowned at that. "It feels like yesterday I saw a kid trying to act mature, and then before I knew it, there was a man in the body of a child..." he hissed regretfully.

Itachi didn't know what to say about that. "Shinobi are people who endure... and we changed." The Uchiha scion felt a little guilty for that, after all when he was three, Shisui and Uncle Obito had treated him like their favorite little brother, but war was never merciful to a child's innocence. Obito had been killed on a mission, and Shisui had lost his older brother, then Kyuubi had attacked their village. And before Shisui knew it, Itachi had become a full pledged shinobi and no longer a little brother he could pamper.

"At least when you're eight years old, you were the talented heir of the Uchiha clan who shouldered our clan's expectation... and you succeeded," Shisui stated ruefully. "Naruto has to face all of this… He should only have to think of how to achieve his dream of living up to his legacy... a simple dream all heirs have, not think of how to prevent a political shit storm that could spark a civil war!"

The prodigy shook his head, "Naruto-kun's life has been devoted to Konoha since he was born..." he muttered forlornly. "I think that... the one thing Naruto-kun fears the most after losing the people he cares about is... to see everything he's sacrificed – his parents, childhood, friends... all be for nothing."

Hokage Tower

Hakurei would always be loyal to the Uzumaki clan, but specifically to Uzumaki Naruto. He was, after all, the boy who had inherited Mito-sama's and Kushina-sama's will. Things he'd always admired about them was their drive as seal masters and unmoving loyalty, though the latter was unfortunately against the boy's wellbeing. It took a saint mentality to survive the mental abuse this village had condemned the young jinchuuriki to. Unlike the ignorant villagers of other hidden villages, Uzushiogakure hailed a jinchuuriki as a hero. Contrary to what was widely believed in the Shinobi world, Mito-sama wasn't the first Uzumaki jinchuuriki of a demon, bijuu or otherwise. Some demons were strong enough to require a human vessel in order to seal them, and those who volunteered to be a sacrifice for the ritual were seen as a hero of Uzushiogakure.

He could never comprehend the foolishness of those who condemned a jinchuuriki to a life of isolation, it was like stepping on a landmine repeatedly.

But for his young master's sake, Hakurei would honor Mito-sama's wish to protect Konoha like they would Uzushiogakure. He, however, would make it clear that Konoha owed Naruto-sama more than they already did.

Naruto sometimes wished he could lead a normal life, well, as normal as a shinobi's life could be. Though that wish had been rendered impossible since the very first hour of his life, because he was made into a jinchuuriki. The Sandaime had definitely tried, but the old kage had failed spectacularly by informing the general populace of his situation. There was no point crying over spilled milk that had become sour, he just hoped he could make this plan work.

"So why did you unseal the treasure, knowing there was a possibility that you could have been unleashing a terrible being?" Homura, the former teammate of Sandaime, asked. "Genin Uzumaki?"

Naruto took a deep breath, "As written in our report, ANBU failed to catch Aizen Sousuke off guard, and he was holding Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui hostage knowing they're dear friends of mine." He would have added Hinamori, but someone who had been under the control of Aizen would be an unfavorable mention. "I'm a proficient seal master but also a mere inexperienced genin level shinobi…" Admit your shortcomings, but don't let them deny your expertise. "Had I foolishly denied Aizen, he would've resorted to more desperate measures, and even I could see that man was not in his right mind," he stated firmly, knowing no one could refute Aizen's unstable mind.

"I see..."

"He would have killed the hostages and myself, but had the situation resorted to sacrificing ourselves to end his ambitions, I would have..." He lied smoothly, ignoring the rueful look on the Sandaime's face. He wouldn't have really sacrificed Itachi, Shisui and his ANBU guards, and he had said as much, but these people didn't need to know that. If they slept better at night believing they knew how fiercely loyal Konoha's jinchuuriki was, it would curry their favor to him.

"Aizen could have tried to power the seal with his malicious chakra, and if we were lucky, it wouldn't have affected the seal at all, but considering the nature of the seal was that of the Shodaime's mokuton chakra... It could have caused an overcharge of the seal because of the corrosive nature of Aizen's chakra. The seal would have spontaneously combusted... and the damage on the Tower would've been inevitable." He let the implication sink in of how disastrous it would've been had Konoha lost the Tower. "I chose to take another risk. I unsealed the treasure for him and attacked him when he was distracted." And it worked, no one could deny that. "I was careless..." Admit your shortcomings, don't deny it or it could be used against you. "Hinamori-san was used as a puppet of Aizen... one that remained active even when I inflicted significant damage on him." A legitimate reason to fail that even ANBU had missed.

Koharu squinted her eyes at the young seal master, but he showed nothing that betrayed their image of him: a prodigy tempered with discipline and completely devoted to the Hokage to repay the privilege that had been granted generously to him. No longer was he the boisterous child he had been. "Very well... I can see your choice as the wiser one with minimal damage. The ANBU squad would have survived had they been more skilled..." Naruto suppressed the urge to clench his fist and gave the councilwoman a rueful smile. "And you resealed the treasure along with that traitor... "

He nodded solemnly, "Yes... Hakurei-shishou has examined the seal himself, and we'll do everything in our power to double the security of the forbidden treasure. And maybe we'll find a way to safely destroy it soon..."

Homura cleared his throat. "That's assuring," he muttered skeptically, "but this report of yours." The man tapped his finger against the manila folder Naruto submitted a day before. "It implied you commanded a squad of ANBU – the very same squad Uchiha Itachi was scheduled to join in a few weeks – and Uchiha Shisui against Aizen."

Naruto frowned at that. "It's true that it was me who relayed the plan to Itachi-senpai, but it was Nezumi's sacrifice and Tori's protection of me that allowed me to finish the seal..." he muttered ruefully.

"That required your special chakra..." Sarutobi finished in stern tone. "At any rate, we should congratulate your coming of age... according to Uzumaki tradition. Congratulations, Naruto-kun, you've lived up to their legacy..."

He bowed in respect toward the old kage. "Thank you for your kind words, Hokage-sama..."

Hakurei nodded approvingly, his young master had done well. He watched as the Hokage and his two advisers exchanged looks of approval, and though the Hokage looked a bit reluctant, there was no ignoring Naruto-sama's potential. He cleared his throat. "It will soon be two years since the beginning of Naruto-kun's formal training as a seal master, and he has surpassed our expectations and completed his basic and intermediate seal levels with flying colors," He informed them proudly. "So it is with pride I declare his apprenticeship fully completed."

He ignored the displeasure on Sarutobi's face; his old friend must have thought he was putting too much of a burden on his young master. Sarutobi was wrong in that account, but he had no desire to correct the old kage. "He's a full-fledged seal master now, but of course, while he has the right to continue research on his own, I will supervise Naruto-kun whenever he needs me," he assured them cordially. "At the rate he's advancing at in the art of sealing, give it three – no, two years... and Naruto-kun will be ready to take an apprentice of his own."

Their eyes widened at that, and Hakurei let himself bask in their incredulous stare. Obviously, they knew nothing about the formal education of the sealing art. The Uzumaki clan was born for this art, and formal education only covered basic and intermediate materials. Those were usually completed in four years by Uzumaki clan members, and Naruto had begun that nearly three years ago. Hakurei was well aware of how his young master abused kage-bunshin no jutsu in learning their arts, but he saw no reason why Naruto-sama shouldn't use every advantage he was given if the headache was worth it.

"Surely you jest," Utatane Koharu accused him.

Hakurei shook his head, "I dare not to jest about something like this, it's been this way since the founding of Uzushiogakure..." he stated firmly, leaving no room for arguments. "Which leads me to my second request..." he trailed off. "As the leader of the sealing division, I cast my vote in favor of his promotion."

They looked hesitant for a moment, but Naruto was well aware the only one who was truly hesitating to promote him was the Hokage. The old kage was worried, and Aizen's betrayal left him guilty and wanting to refrain from putting too much burden on him by promoting him. His advisers, on the other hand, would put the good of the village before his qualms, and if anything, be relieved that Konoha was not left behind in terms of strength because of their jinchuuriki. The awakening of his special chakra would further solidify their opinions on his advancement; not to mention, Hakurei would be pleased.

Homura raised his right hand. "I, Mitokado Homura, approve Genin Uzumaki Naruto's promotion to chuunin." Sarutobi looked at his teammate in disbelief, but quickly turned his attention back to Koharu who followed Homura's example.

"I, Utatane Koharu, approve Genin Uzumaki Naruto's promotion to chuunin..." she muttered in a solemn tone.

Naruto could tell his grandfather figure was inwardly bristling and disapproved sacrificing him for the good of the village even more. However, they had to – they needed to approve his promotion or else. "Hokage-sama..." Hakurei began, and Naruto hoped Hakurei could deliver what he'd asked of him perfectly, or the point of this meeting would be moot. "Naruto-kun strives to be a formidable combat seal master." He gave the old kage a curt nod, his eyes unwavering under the hardened gaze. "And for that he needs field experience. I wish to help my young seal master achieve his fullest potential for the good of our village."

"He is young," Sarutobi stated.

Hakurei rolled his eyes inwardly, the old monkey was as stubborn as ever. "Hatake-kun was six when he became a chuunin." And he couldn't claim that Naruto was different or less talented, not after Aizen's incident, Hakurei thought.

"We're not in war now... There's no reason to push a young child into advancing so quickly," Sarutobi muttered, glaring at the old seal master.

Hakurei snorted inwardly. "There's no reason to deny a young prodigy advancement. If anything, that's more reason to let Naruto-kun be promoted..." he stated firmly. "Times are peaceful... Less dangerous missions are perfect for Naruto-kun to grow at his own pace..." Then he turned to the advisers, "Mitokado-dono and Utatane-dono approve... "

The old kage seemed to be firm in holding his ground, but he knew he was losing. One more push was all it needed unless he wished to be alienated. "Hokage-sama..." Naruto's voice broke his glaring contest with Hakurei, much to his chagrin. "I understand your worries about an inexperienced genin such as myself," Sarutobi flinched guiltily, "however, I wish to improve as a combat seal master. I realize my folly of staying in the tower, severely neglecting my in field experience as a combatant..." He clenched his fist. "I'll not refuse placement on any team of your choosing, Hokage-sama. Konoha needs capable seal masters, and I wish to fill that role."

For all the lies and suffering the old Kage had caused, Naruto knew that Sarutobi loved him. It was unfair to use that feeling, but life never was, especially a shinobi's. "Very well..." Sarutobi closed his eyes, "I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage approve of Genin Uzumaki's promotion to Chuunin rank. May your will of fire burn fiercely for Konoha..."

Naruto bowed deeply in respect, "Thank you Hokage-sama... Mitokado-sama, Utatane-sama... I thank you for giving me this opportunity, and I vow to devote myself to Konoha and the will of fire," he vowed solemnly.

He opened his eyes slowly, gazing at Hakurei and the old kage. With this he was one step closer to achieving his purpose, and he clenched his fist in anticipation. "Thank you, Hokage-sama," Hakurei muttered, "You have our gratitude for this..." He trailed off. "In light of Naruto-kun's promotion as a chuunin and full-pledged seal master, I would like to extend an offer to the village as a whole to learn sealing arts...anyone you recommend is welcome into our tower. Foundation subject tests are still required, but those who fail will be given supplementary lessons until they're deemed qualified to start the basic. Afterwards, if they wish to go further, they would be given a personal teacher to supervise their future research on advanced seals. Those we deemed qualified would be offered apprenticeship right away..."

Their eyes widened in disbelief. Did the proud Shiomitsu Hakurei just give Konoha what they'd been asking for since Mito's passing, on a silver platter?

"That's wonderful news."

Surprisingly, Koharu was the first to regain her voice. It felt like just yesterday when Jiraiya had been kicked out of the tower as soon as he'd mastered the basic of the sealing art – which was the most the people of the tower allowed an outsider to learn from them. And to get even that much, they had to test his knowledge on the foundation subjects of fuuinjutsu and get a recommendation letter from a member of the tower. Even those who managed to pass the required qualifications weren't guaranteed to pass the formal education. The clans in the tower were willing to share foundation knowledge, but anything beyond that was guarded jealously. Minato had been a special case, not everyone was a talented prodigy and lover of Uzumaki Kushina. Not to mention Minato's father was a close friend of Hakurei and Sangetsu. As Jiraiya said, his blond student was a lucky bastard when it comes to sealing art.

Hakurei suppressed his urge to grin. While it pained him to share the centuries of knowledge Uzushigakure had achieved with blood, sweat and tears, he knew the result would be worth it. This was just the start, his young master wouldn't do anything half-way. Konoha would be forced, kicking and screaming, into acknowledging their ignorance and where they truly belong! Beneath his young master's feet!

Naruto rolled his eyes inwardly at the slight twitch of Hakurei's hand. The old man must be thinking something about putting Konoha in their place again. It seemed it would take a while to make the people of the tower view Konohagakure as their home. But for now, whatever ploy Hakurei thought he was cooking up for the sake of his people, it would serve to better the cause.

"And another proposal we would like to offer..." Hakurei began grandly, undoubtedly having no intentions of letting the three veterans recover from their short episode of stupor. "…courtesy of Naruto-kun and Uchiha-dono."

Naruto didn't miss the slight twitch of Koharu's and Homura's eyes when they heard about the Uchiha's involvement, especially since it reeked of 'ostracized clans should stick with each other' political strategy. Itachi had informed Naruto that his father was quite floored by the proposal, but the Uchiha clan was grasping straws trying to maintain their noble status nowadays, so the prospect was too good to pass up. Naruto himself had written the proposal to Fugaku, though the stamp was Hakurei's. His retainer was unhappy to involve the Uchiha's, but he couldn't deny they owed Itachi and Shisui nor that it would benefit both the tower and the Uchiha clan. Naruto was also glad that the three students of the Niidaime always tried to hide their prejudice against Uchiha clan; after all, they had to show a united front regardless of the bad blood with the Uchihas. They couldn't reject the proposal without legitimate reason.

Sarutobi, to his credit, managed to find his voice before his old teammates did. "What is it that... you would like to propose, Hakurei-dono?"

Hakurei didn't bother to conceal his smile as he placed a bundle of papers on their desk, a pile for each of them. "Much to our chagrin we haven't really updated our security seals for a long time... due to many unfavorable factors..." He cleared his throat. That was one way to describe status quo between the tower and Konoha's government. "While we have a borderline perfect barrier to detect enemies, we have a very standard and unconventional method when it comes to intruders... thus, I propose a surveillance system that would incorporate Konoha's Military Police Force..."

"Why the Uchiha's Military Police Force?" Koharu blurted out before she could stop herself. She tried to hide her slip up, but to be honest, her teammates were thinking the same.

Naruto suppressed the urge to snort. He had a feeling his grandfather figure was going to ask them to wait so he could consider the proposal... Well, too bad they wouldn't get that chance. "This surveillance system is to monitor our civilian population, and it's within the Police Force's jurisdiction, is it not?" Naruto pointed out with a genial smile that eerily reminded the old Kage of Minato when his successor was scheming. "They know what goes on within the village better than most... so for this proposed system to work, we need their cooperation," he drawled, blue eyes showing nothing but enthusiasm. "And... Chuunin Itachi has spoken with Uchiha-dono regarding this system, so we have a blue print of the mechanism ready to be installed in our village," Naruto informed them formally.

Homura narrowed his eyes at the young blond. "Without discussing it with us first?"

Hakurei raised an eyebrow at the veteran. "We're doing that now, Homura-dono... developing a proposal is strictly within our jurisdiction. In fact, Mito-sama made it clear in her decree we're not allowed to propose an idea that's still premature." It was a lie of course, at least the part about making the seal and proposal, especially since they had just copied the ancient seal Uzushiogakure used long ago with some slight tweaking here and there. "The discussion with Uchiha-dono was vital in the blueprint, so we couldn't afford to finalize it without his assistance."

Hakurei had to say he was impressed the Uchihas were as dedicated as the tower in their duty. They really knew Konoha's civilian population inside and out, housing, security systems, and so on. While they weren't his favorite clan, both sides had a grudging respect towards the other's professionalism. He didn't trust Fugaku fully yet, but he trusted his heir, and Itachi was very loyal to his young master. If the young man dared to betray Naruto-sama, he would deal with the Uchiha accordingly.

"Well then... should we discuss when to begin this project on a later date?" Hakurei urged them, fully enjoying their shell-shocked faces.

"We never agreed to this proposal," Koharu gritted out.

Hakurei leaned in, "Why not? Pray tell, Koharu-dono... is there a mistake you've spotted in our proposal?"

There was none of course, aside from them not trusting the Uchiha clan to manage the system, and they couldn't voice that out loud. Denying the Uchiha the right to manage it was a foolish move. Especially since said system was within Uchiha's jurisdiction – authorized by Niidaime himself.

Sarutobi sighed inwardly, he had nothing against this proposal to be honest. Who knew, this could probably sate the Uchiha clan's growing resentment about their lack of political prowess? It might bite them hard latter, but rejecting this proposal without a sound reason would make The Tower and the Uchihas more hostile. Alienating both of them would crush Konoha's inner defense, and he was well aware the boycott threat from Hakurei had not been called off yet. The Tower and the Uchiha clan were showing a united front, both aware that Konoha had backed them into the corner, and so were willing to work with each other. And in the middle of that was Naruto-kun, who was fond of his new family and friends. He had shown growing distrust toward Konoha's general population, and refusing this proposal would make it worse. Especially since Naruto saw nothing wrong with the proposal… technically, there was none, but politically...

For a political scheme to rear its ugly head here was unfavorable for their side.

Sarutobi steeled himself as he straightened his back, "Very well... I approve this proposal." From the corner of his eyes, he could see his old teammate's hesitation, but they all knew it would do more harm than good to reject this proposal. "We'll have another meeting to discuss this matter further and to proceed with its actualization."

Naruto felt like a heavy burden had just been lifted from his shoulders, and the world seemed brighter from what it was moments ago. "Thank you, Hokage-sama," he breathed out in relieved voice. Sarutobi almost gasped when he saw Naruto's smile. It was a small, beautiful smile, a smile he hadn't been given since he gave Naruto the apprentice right. His heart almost stopped from the shock but the emotion was quickly replaced with a familiar warmth. The same warmth that occurred whenever he managed to give a shred of happiness to the young jinchuuriki.

Uchiha Compound

Itachi had never asked for anything from his parents and had always been an obedient child who did what they asked unquestionably. He was a prodigious son befitting of the main family of the Uchiha clan. So when Itachi did ask something of them for the first time, Fugaku didn't know whether to be pleased or horrified by Itachi's request. But this was a special occasion. At first he considered giving Naruto a nice set of high quality kunai and shuriken, but dismissed the idea the moment he remembered that the Shiomitsu was a clan of blacksmith. There was no way he could get some with higher quality in the market than theirs.

While Itachi would never admitted it, he was well aware there was some sort of rivalry between him and Shisui with the Shiomitsu siblings when it came to Naruto. He wanted to give his best friend a memorable present, especially since this was the first time Naruto had celebrated his birthday. The last few days had been hectic, but thanks to Naruto's quick wit, they'd managed to avoid a civil war, while pocketing a favor from his clan no less. His parents had been in a very good mood since then, and it was the perfect opportunity for him to ask for their assistance.

"Do we have anything that belonged to the Yondaime or Kushina-san that could be given to Naruto-kun?" Fugaku repeated his son's request.

Itachi nodded. "Yes, I wish to give him something from them. I assure you that Naruto-kun isn't asking for this personally…" Itachi clenched his fist. "It's just… I want him to have something to hold on to…"

"What you can tell me about the Yondaime and a redhead named Kushina?" Naruto asked one afternoon while sitting on a branch of Yūjō no Ki.

Itachi stiffened and looked at Naruto, eyes wide. "I…"

Naruto shook his head. "You don't have to tell me anything," he smiled sadly before sighing. "This secrecy law really sucks. Just keep it a secret I ever asked…"

Itachi cut him off with, "The Yondaime was a calm, collected, and perceptive shinobi…" Naruto stared at him in shock, and for the first time since he met the blond child, Itachi saw under his calm mask of a prodigal seal master. "He was known for his unbeatable determination and unbelievable drive, something I believe he has passed on to…"

Naruto shook his head again. "You should stop there, Itachi. You'll get in trouble if you continue," he warned the Uchiha scion.

"But more than anything…" Itachi continued, "He deeply cared for and loved his family…" The onyx eyed youth smiled sadly. "When I was four, I remember seeing him tackle my father because he was so happy about a new addition to his family…"

"… Is that so?" Naruto muttered, tears starting to pool in the corner of his blue eyes.

"Kushina-san was a friend of my mother. She was renowned for her beauty and prowess as a kunoichi. My mother said she had a temper and was fearless, so it was a big surprise to see Kushina-san worried about labor pains like most women." Itachi took a deep breath. "She was very kind… and I'm sure she would be a loving mother…"

Naruto smiled at that. "I think you can stop now…" He looked as though he was barely holding back tears. "You've told me enough… I'm sorry to have troubled you with such a selfish question."

"It's not…"

"I think it is," Naruto corrected. "It's troubling, isn't it? If you continue I'll be too greedy for my own good," he muttered, wiping his tears away and slapping both of his cheeks until they reddened. "Okay! Break's over! Let's get back to training!" And with that, the jinchuuriki sprinted to the nearest clearing to do just that.

"Very well."

Itachi blinked owlishly at his father. He had been expecting his father to refuse, and then for his mother to attempt to persuade him. "Eh?"

Fugaku nodded. "We happen to have something that was given to us... that I'm sure is inconspicuous enough to be given to the child."

Mikoto eyed her husband in shock. "Dear… could it be you're thinking of that?" she asked in disbelief.

Fugaku nodded. "Yes, that."

"You can't be serious!" She looked horrified by the idea. "That's not something you'd give a child!"

Fugaku shrugged. "Do you have a better idea, because a photo album is definitely out." Mikoto looked disheartened. "So are other obvious things, like Minato's special kunai…"

"Tou-san, Kaa-san…" Itachi called to get their attention. "I assure you he'll treasure anything you can give… he has nothing from his parents." Aside from the demon in his gut which Naruto could fortunately call a friend. "He… he bears so many burdens and has received nothing in return…"

Fugaku and Mikoto looked at each other. "Very well…" Mikoto said, giving in as she and her husband stood up from their seiza. "I will fetch it for you, just don't freak out when I tell you what it is," she muttered with a sigh.

Five minutes later Itachi stared at the thing his mother gave to him. No wonder his mother thought it was an inappropriate gift for a child. But then again, it was the thought that mattered, right?

Fugaku cleared his throat as he reentered the room. The clan head handed over a book titled The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi to his son who accepted the book with a puzzled look. "This is something I forgot to return to a certain blond idiot. Give it to his next of kin."

Itachi nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Of course… Tou-san."

"Also..." Fugaku trailed off uncomfortably.

"Yes?"

"I think your mother should tell you the details of what she was going to give to you," Fugaku muttered forlornly.

The next day

It was a beautiful bird mask with a white base, red and black markings adorning it. However, unlike a normal mask, it only covered half of his face, from his nose up. Together with the mask was a custom-made headband made of black cloth with a red Konoha symbol; it covered his neck, chin, and half of his cheek. When worn together with the mask, only his mouth and a small part of his cheek could be seen. When he received the gift his late ANBU guards had entrusted to Shion, Naruto hadn't expected a mask or the headband at all. The Sandaime Hokage's eyes widened when he saw Naruto putting the mask on, and Naruto didn't miss the grief on the aged Kage's face. The blond narrowed his eyes beneath his mask, it either belonged to his parents or was a replica Tori and his squad made.

Naruto took off the porcelain mask, inspecting the back part and noted there was a small hinge on both side and the bottom part slid down, and the mask turned to be a full cover one. He inspected the pattern next. There was a black triangle with red lining from the bridge of the nose to the temple, while its beak was red. "What bird is this?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Wagtail," Sarutobi answered with a sad smile. "Sekirei... in folklore or Ainu. It's said that they were sent by Kamui to create habitable land in the watery world. A small bird capable of great things..."

The blond couldn't help but smiled at that, "Oh... I see." Was that what Tori and his squad thought of him?

Itachi frowned at that, recalling an old memory from when he was four years old. His mother and Uzumaki Kushina had been talking about names they were planning for their unborn sons. It was so long ago, but he remembered because his mother – or was it Kushina-basan? – had talked about wagtail being her old ANBU mask, and how she was considering naming her child Sekirei if she had a daughter. "Aren't they the sacred birds of the two divine gods Izanagi and Izanami (Goddess of creation and death); for it was through them that these divinities first learned the art of love?" Itachi blurted out.

Naruto and Shisui went wide eyed, while Sandaime coughed. "Love?" Naruto sputtered in disbelief. "Art of love?"

"Well..." Itachi looked very uncomfortable. "Someone once told me wagtails are the birds that taught love to humanity." Kushina had sounded very proud when she told that to his mother, and his mother had gushed at that.

Naruto heard Kurama snort at that and say something along lines of how humanity was pathetic if they were taught how to love by insectivorous birds. "Oh..." Now he could guess whose mask it was, or at least where Tori and his squad had gotten the idea from.

"It's Shinto mythology..." Itachi shrugged.

Then Naruto turned to the Sandaime Hokage. "Jii-chan, is the Ainu's myth right?"

The aged kage smiled at that, "Ah yes... according to the Ainu clan." They were both very knowledgeable, and sometimes he wondered how the two prodigies managed to squeeze time to broaden their horizon with their already busy schedules.

Shisui grinned from ear to ear as he slung his right arm around Naruto's shoulder. "Wow, so... the mask represents a lot of meaning!"

"Don't you dare make a crack out of it," Naruto hissed into his ear.

Shisui grinned at that. "Oh, of course not! Ha ha ha..."

Naruto turned his attention to the pile of presents he received, and to be honest, he was almost teary eyed at the mere sight of it, but he wouldn't hear the end of it from Shisui if he dared to cry. It was the first time in his life he'd seen presents piling like this for him. Normally, he only received a couple of gifts from the Sandaime and his ANBU guards, while Ichiraku gave him free meal coupons.

Sandaime had given him a high quality weapon pouch and kunai holster this year, and the Shiomitsus had given him a complete set of brushes, which were undoubtedly pricey judging from the ornamented box. Yuzuriha and Tokusa were, thankfully, considerate enough to add a brush hanger made of bamboo and a brush carrier made of durable black cloth he could wrap around his thigh like a kunai holster. Other seal masters had gifted him with seal supplies they made personally, shinobi standard undershirts, sweets, or plants. The latter was very appreciated, although Hakurei was torn between being amused and exasperated that the rooftop of their tower resembled a jungle rather than a rooftop from afar.

Shisui had given him a hug, much to his chagrin, before shoving a neatly wrapped present at his chest. Naruto had been really wary of Shisui's grin, as it made it seem whatever was inside was probably one hell of joke. And Itachi... He had to wonder what the Uchiha heir had gotten. Itachi had gone through the trouble of arriving one hour early, only to pass the neatly wrapped gift to him as though it was some sort of secret forbidden scroll. He had then proceeded to tell him that he should keep it a secret if possible with a weird look on his face as he glanced back at the present. What had Itachi gotten into for this secret present?

The cake, thankfully, was edible and was presentable, too, though Naruto suspected Shion had had a hand in helping Yuzuriha and Tokusa. It was a mystery how they were skilled seal masters and decent cooks, yet for some reason, oven and cream pipes never agreed with them. He had taken a few peeks at their experimental cakes, and some looked like charred coals, while the frosting looked like froth rather than cream. A few had also looked a bit demented with bloody fingerprints all over them. He had resigned himself to eating whatever they produced on this day as he was confident that Kurama could prevent the worse.

Fortunately, his fear was unfounded since Shion definitely wouldn't let his cousins attempt to poison their young master, in his birthday at least.

Naruto sighed as he took a plate of macha mochi from the buffet table, then handed it to Itachi. "Eat up, I won't bug you about unhealthy sugar intake today..."

Itachi blinked owlishly at that. "Thanks."

Sandaime raised a graying eyebrow at that, while Shisui laughed in the background.

A few hours later, after most of the guests went home, Naruto began to unseal presents he hadn't unwrapped yet. In total he had about fifteen as some seal masters had pitched to get a single present, which was why the number of gifts didn't add up to the number of guests. Naruto opened Shisui's present that was wrapped in a blue cloth like some sort of bento, and when he held it up, the present was pretty heavy. He slowly untied the knot, his eyes widening when he saw a pair of geta. He suppressed his urge to scream Shisui's name in rage when he saw that the baka had given him a pair of Tengu Geta. The elevated wooden base was twenty centimeters thick!

'He got you there midget!'

'Shut up, Kurama! I'll grow taller than him! It's not fair to compare him with me now since he's in his growth spurt period!'

Kurama rolled his eyes, 'Eh... in case you forgot, he's six years older than you.'

'Hmph!' Naruto vowed that he would raise hell on Shisui the next time they sparred. So he moved onto the next present, which was from Itachi, and the one he was most curious about. It was wrapped in a simple neat red wrapping paper with a card attached to it. Since this was Uchiha Itachi, the card only had 'Happy Birthday' and his name written on it. Then again, he had already received too many sappy congratulation cards from his subordinates. He unwrapped it carefully, cutting the perfectly lined tape with scissors. Trust Itachi to be a neat freak. Inside was a small brown box that encased the present that Naruto opened. He blinked in confusion when he saw a book titled The Tale of Utterly Gutsy Ninja, which was not a weird present from one bookworm to another, but the other present tipped him off.

It was a small, orange brocade bag with red Uzumaki swirls embroidered on the front part. It took three seconds for his brain to register it as an Omamori (Japanese Charm) and that Itachi had given him a well-wishing gift. Was it common to give this as a birthday present? He wondered as he took the charm out of the box, feeling what was contained inside. He frowned when the tip of fingers felt the contents, something like a bundle of threads and something rectangular made of hard wood. He flipped the omamori so he could see the back pack and froze when he saw the word that was embroidered with red thread on it.

En-musubi: acquisition of a mate and marriage.

"Heh?" His brain tried to process that not only had Itachi given him a charm, it was charm for romance. It took a full minute for his brain to reboot.

'I think I've seen that thing before somewhere,' Kurama muttered in the back of his mind. 'Aha! Kushina gave that to one of her Uchiha friends years ago! Engagement present or something ha ha ha."

"Kaa-san's? What's inside?" He knew it was inadvisable to take a peek on an Omamori's content, but he had a feeling whatever was inside was meant to be taken out of the brocade bag. He carefully loosened the rope that tied it, using his forefinger and middle finger to pick up the object. His eyes widened when he saw a small framed photo, a picture from his dream. His father was smiling as he hugged his pregnant mother who sat on a chair, caressing his father's hair fondly. "This is..."

'Ho... How daring of them.' Kurama was mildly impressed; those Uchiha could get in trouble with the Sandaime if the old kage found out.

Naruto trembled as his shaking finger traced the photo, a portrait of his family! One that even had him in it, never mind he was still in his mother's womb! The small part of his mind that still held childish mischievousness added that Kurama counted as being in photo as well. It took him only a few minutes to snap out of his musings, because beneath his happiness, fear and anxiety started to surface. If this photo was discovered by someone there would trouble, more so for Itachi. He quickly put the photo back inside the brocade bag, albeit reluctantly. He'd have all the time in the world to look at it later once he created a good seal to secure it. His mind browsed through all the genjutsu, security and durability seals he could use.

Kurama rolled his eyes at the whirlwind of thoughts. 'Stop before you fry your brain~'

Naruto ignored Kurama's grumbling, and as he put the photo back, his fingers brushed something smooth with a thread like texture. He carefully pulled it out, blinking owlishly at the content. Suddenly, Itachi's disconcerted face made a lot of sense. His friend had just had his first taste of culture shock.

Well, he'd made it up to Itachi somehow.

His eyes were drawn to the tengu geta Shisui had given him, and in spite of his maturity, Naruto still had the curiosity of an eight-year-old boy. And since nobody was looking, Kurama aside of course... he put the geta on. Standing at his full height, he began walking around in his living room, staggering a bit as he came to a conclusion. "Maybe I shouldn't kill Shisui for this joke, in fact... I owe him one," he muttered thoughtfully.

He'd have a full day tomorrow to practice wearing these thing by himself, because Itachi and Shisui had a family gathering tomorrow if he recalled correctly. Now, if only he could figure out a nice sound absorbing seal to reduce that clap-clop sound or learn how to walk silently on these geta they would be perfect!

That night for the first time since Aizen killed his ANBU guards and broke Hinamori's mind, Naruto had a deep and dreamless sleep.

Now... I think 'FORGET THE TIME SKIP OR NO TIME SKIP' since it doesn't matter much anymore rather than would I let Uchiha Massacre to happen or not, we all seems toward HELL NO. And for your info the latest political move is a temporary solution, it's not stopping the isolation Konoha condemned to Uchiha at all... and the suspicion is still there.

Before anyone protested Naruto's promotion is a sign of him growing overly strong, hell NO. Even in canon, who got promoted when Naruto, Sasuke and Neji didn't make it? Shikamaru who shows he has tactical mind, know his limit and one of the weakest in term of strength. Making it to Chuunin as far as I concerned is not a sign of power, or at least not 'always' raw power and physical skill. You also have to note Naruto is a specialist in this story, he is smart but his experience is real battle is just once with Aizen. He is not a frontline fighter like Itachi and Shisui, at this point he'll do well as a support type.

In conclusion, he is promoted for the same reason as Shikamaru in canon. And regardless what Sandaime feels, it's not right to keep their jinchuuriki holed up in the tower as a researcher. Bijuu are given to each village to stabilize balance of power by Shodai, Naruto won't be a secret forever to the world and like it or not they needed him to be strong as representation of Konoha's strength. Naruto is also a combat seal master, and The tower just opened a chance for Konoha to gain more skilled seal masters, it would be stupid if Konoha keep one of their rarest asset in the village without field experience. I aim for a realistic progress in power and skill for Naruto, though standard in Naruto's world is unrealistic already considering Kakashi is chuunin when he was six.

At any rate... I hope you can understand that Naruto's promotion is justified though with politic backing unfortunately. Life is never fair to him anyway~

Next chap, Naruto is completing his fighting style LOL